This invention relates to a method for registering movement patterns of human beings.
In the care of human beings, in particular relatively young children, such as babies, and patients, for instance, in a hospital, it is of great importance that it can be determined if the individual in question has a correct posture and movement pattern during a particular period of care, so as to prevent, for instance, suffocation or decubitus ulcers. For this purpose, it is conventional to perform visual checks, for instance by walking past the crib or bed, or through video monitoring. This is particularly costly and labor-intensive and moreover may have as a consequence that the individual in question is disturbed while resting. It further requires a physical presence of the attending person and entails a relatively high physical and mental pressure on that person.
In patient monitoring, for monitoring vital body functions such as heart rate and respiration, use is further made of monitoring systems connected directly to the patient, such as respiration equipment or ECG devices. This has as an important disadvantage that such devices entail a great physical and mental pressure on the patient, while moreover such devices are to be connected via cables and tubes, which may entail risks for individuals.
The above-described methods for monitoring an individual further have as an important disadvantage that in each case only the instantaneous situation of the individual in question is checked. This means that decisions will be made merely on the basis of instantaneous data. This increases the risk of wrong decisions, while further there is a risk that between the checks, dangerous, at any rate undesirable, situations arise, which, for instance, have not been anticipated.
From WO 99 04691 A an apparatus and a method is known for monitoring the respiration and movements of an infant to prevent for instance sudden infant death syndrome. To that end the lying position of the infant, that is face down or face up, is detected and compared to a pre-stored threshold value. An alarm may be generated when the threshold value is exceeded. The position is detected by means of a sensor which consists of two parts, a RF generator which is attached to the back of the infant, for instance to its clothing, and a receiving means, which must be mounted in the vicinity of the infant, for instance above its bed. Thus when the infant is lying at his back the signal received by the receiving means will be weaker than when the infant is lying face down.
The object of the invention is to provide a method of the kind described in the introductory part, in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are obviated, while the advantages are maintained. To that end, a method according to the invention is characterized by the features according to claim 1.